Eric Greitens should exit Missouri governorship

Whether he goes voluntarily or not, we’re past the point for Eric Greitens to be out of the Missouri governor’s office.

It’s widely known that Greitens’s current criminal trial stems from his alleged conduct during a brief affair that he had in 2015 before running for governor. The proceedings began with the question of whether or not he took a photo of the woman in a partial state of undress, without her consent.

So there are several potential criminal issues in this trial (currently taking place in St. Louis) including: A) Was there a photo taken without her consent? B) Was the photo transmitted electronically unbeknownst to the victim, if in fact such photo exists? C) Was she blackmailed with the alleged photo to not go public about the affair (lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have repeatedly called her testimony “credible”)? and D) Were coercion and the woman’s safety used as intimidation tactics as she began her affair with Greitens?

While the jury in the criminal trial will answer these difficult questions, the problem remains the same: Missouri shouldn’t be making headlines for these reasons to begin with; it’s time for Greitens to go.

Add to that a second criminal indictment, which is completely unrelated to those original charges, and you have a governor that should have gracefully exited his position a few months back.

The second set of charges involves allegedly having stolen a donor list from the very charity he founded years before running for governor. This particular set of charges involves campaign finance laws that are in place to ensure that non-profits remain just that and are not used when candidates run for public office.

Like the criminal case stemming from Greitens’ affair, officials on both sides of the political aisle have determined that there is sufficient evidence to proceed with charging Greitens with felony charges stemming from his alleged theft.

While the alleged wrongdoings don’t end there, one would think even the first set of charges would be enough to encourage Greitens to do the right thing and step down.

However, no such good fortune for us Missourians.

Instead, Greitens has remained defiant in the face of mounting accusations, felony charges and more shenanigans that are too numerous to be counted. Rather than respectfully step down, he has allowed Missouri to remain in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons, while he spouts off tired old sayings such as “fake news” and “political vendetta,” which are nothing more than an attempt to shift blame from the gigantic mess of his own making.

For the dignity of his family and the sake of Missourians, Mr. Greitens, it’s time to do the honorable and step down, regardless of the outcome of this trial.

And if he won’t step down, it’s time for our lawmakers to continue what they have already started and remove Greitens from office. Missourians have put up with the clown show long enough. It’s time for Greitens to go.

Christopher Dixon is Chief Operating Officer of eLectio Publishing (electiopublishing.com) and lives in Springfield with his family.